


night talks

by heimdallwatches



Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Dialogue, F/F, Slow Burn, Strong Language, Worry, emi curses a lot, i'm also bad at tagging, pills?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 12:33:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16787032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heimdallwatches/pseuds/heimdallwatches
Summary: Emília has a hard time sleeping, but at least Ava is there to talk to her.





	night talks

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place somewhere in Book 1, before all the stuff with Murphy.
> 
> Again, forgive me for the title and for the fact that I also didn't beta this fic ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

A sharp sting of pain jolted her awake and she knew it was going to be one of _those_ nights. She groaned and sighed, trying to find a new comfortable position, but the pain just wouldn't let it happen. She let the minutes pass slowly, clutching her good hand on her right shoulder as if that would dampen the pain, but of course it only made it worse. The throbbing and stinging sensation turned her whole arm stiff; a cold tremor running up and down her veins everytime she breathed.

The pain was so strong that it numbed her thoughts and made her breathing turn frantic and ragged. With tears in her eyes, she managed to sit straight on her bed and there she stood for a very long time, shaking, crying, cursing. It had been like this for the past four years and she had mastered the art of simply ignoring the constant pain, but sometimes it was impossible to. In nights like these, all she wanted to do was to yank her arm out and sleep, but seeing as she couldn't do neither of those options, she decided to do something else instead.

She was sure she had some painkillers on her bedside, but fumbling with the drawer produced no results. She must had forgotten the flask in the kitchen that morning. Cursing, she begrudgingly got up on her feet and prepared to leave her room, but a familiar dizziness made her stop on the spot and almost fall in bed again. Shit. That goddamned pain had gotten even worse after she was promoted to detective.

Sighing and shaking her head, she opened the door and quickly crossed the few meters until her rather small kitchen. The cozy place was tidy and organized as always, not one plate or cup out of its place. Not that she cared about it that moment; the only thing on her mind was the fastest route to the painkillers. After searching for it on the sink and opening a few cabinet doors - almost desperately - she finally found a small transparent flask. With her good hand shaking, she opened it and poured four pills in her other hand (then four more after a brief moment of consideration) and swallowed quickly, not bothering to drink some water to help.

Emília leaned on the sink, lowering her head and squeezing her eyes shut. She tried her hardest to keep her breathing under control, but her heart still raced and her shoulder still made her want to scream. Even though she knew it would take some time for the medicine to work, she wished she was more patient. The pain was just unbearable.

"Detective?". The stern voice made her jump, her heartbeat turning even more chaotic. Ava was standing at the kitchen's entrance, her posture stiff as ever. "Is everything alright?"

 _"Jesus Christ, Ava!"_ , she squealed. She had completely forgotten that the Unit had decided to take turns to watch her on her house, and this was Ava's turn. The agent was silent like a stray cat. Clutching her hand to her heart, as if trying to keeping it from fleeing her body, she took a deep breath. "Don't scare me like this!"

"I apologise. I didn't mean to startle you", she replied, her tone somewhat softer than before.

Emília let out a soft laugh, still trying to keep herself under control. "It's ok. I'm fine by the way, I was just going to— _ugh, fuck!"_. Her trail of thoughts was interrupted when another sharp sting almost ripped her shoulder in two. Those goddamned pills were taking too long to take effect! She muffled a cry and closed her eyes again, praying to all the inexistent gods that the pain would just stop. She only noticed Ava had gotten closer to her when she dared to open her eyes again.

"Do you need to go to an hospital?", the agent asked, a slight tinge of worry in her voice. She raised her hand to touch Emília's arm, but quickly withdrew it when she realised what she was doing. Her expression returned to the usual unreadable one and she took a small step backwards.

 _"Fuck, no!"_ , Emmy said with more energy than she intended. She cleared her throat and turned her gaze away from Ava, a sheepish smile in her lips. "Sorry. No. I've had my fair share of doctors and needles already, thanks".

She swallowed hard, straightening herself and throwing a more sincere smile in Ava's direction; fact that seemed to caught the agent by surprise, making her blink rapidly for a second. "Usually a hot water bottle helps too. Would you give me a hand and put the kettle in the oven for me? I... really feel like i'm gonna pass out now".

She wasn't being dramatic: she felt that dizziness climbing up her head again, though this time it hit her even stronger than before. Ava nodded and stepped forward again, all professionalism on her movements. "Of course. Sit down, I'll handle this". If Emília was in better conditions, she definitely would have gotten mad at the agent's commanding tone, but at the moment she couldn't be more happy to obey. She sat down on one of the small and comfortable chairs and waited.

It took a while for her to start feeling more or less like a person again. The pain started to become less of a nuisance, so the painkillers must have finally started to kick in. Thank god. She wasn't sure she could handle that sensation much longer.

While she waited, her gaze landed on Ava as if she was a magnet. It was funny how she managed to maintain her strict posture even when doing such an ordinary task like boiling some water. Her broad shoulders and muscular arms worked slowly and she had a focused look on her face; Emília would dare to say she even looked pretty calm. She forgot the pain for a moment when her eyes lingered on the curve of Ava's neck, the pale skin almost glimmering in the dim light. The detective couldn't hold her smirk when Ava suddenly turned to her and froze for a second.

"It's ready", the agent said, clearing her throat and looking away. She frowned, quickly picking up the water bottle and handing it to Emília, who didn't let go of her playful smirk as she took it from Ava.

"Thanks Ava", she said while winking at the blonde agent. She purposely let her fingers touch Ava's and felt how she stiffened under her touch.

Emília's smile at her reaction faltered a little when another sting hit her entire arm, this time a bit weaker than before. She got up slowly, pressing the water bottle on her shoulder. The warmth was a blessing and actually relieved the pain a bit more.

She left the kitchen and went straight to the even cozier living room, followed closely by Ava. She slumped on the oversized armchair and bent her knees to her chest, always pressing the heavenly water bottle against her. The agent returned to her usual position at the window, arms crossed and face turned to observe outside. There was a stiffness to her acts that was more prominent than always.

Emília felt her eyes starting to close, but somehow she didn't want to sleep just now. Fighting her own exhaustion, she changed her position into a more comfortable one. "So... you're not even gonna ask?", she said, raising her voice a little to make sure Ava wouldn't ignore her. For... some weird reason, she needed to hear her voice at that moment.

Ava turned her focus to the detective, an inquiring look on her eyes. "Ask what?"

"How I got this", Emília gestured to her shoulder. Through her tank top, the agent could see a nasty-looking scar covering a big portion of it, the skin there lighter and bumpier than the rest of her arm.

Emília couldn't help but feel a tingle of excitement when Ava's icy green eyes lingered on her body for more than the necessary amount of time. As if realising this, the agent straightened herself and frowned. "I figured that would be a very personal issue", she blurted, clearing her throat once again.

"Pffft, personal", mocked Emília, throwing her head backwards and wincing when the action made her shoulder hurt again. She could feel the sleepiness scrambling her thoughts, but she wouldn't let it get the best of her. She yawned and laughed. "Shit, don't tell me you're not even a little curious!"

"If you want to tell me so badly, detective", Ava begun and the detective could feel the small tinge of annoyance on her voice, "feel free to do so, if that is going to make you silent again".

"You're no fun, are you? Jeez!". Emília let out a small laugh and struggled to keep her eyes open. Damned time for the medicine to take effect. Her voice was hoarse and dragged when she spoke again. "I never run from a good fight, but maybe I should've tried to avoid this one. I got too invested and didn't even realised the dickhead had a knife". Another long yawn interrupted her words and she felt her head turning heavier by the second. "He got me by surprise and almost dismembered me like a pig. And now it just hurts like a real motherfucker".  
  
Ava had to controll her eyes from rolling at the detective's excessive cursing, but her tone was slightly softer when she said, "I am sorry to hear that, detective". 

"Yeah, whatever", the detective replied without any specific emotion. She raised her stubborn tired eyes to the agent, giving her a small smile. "But hey, we've unlocked the Tragic Past friendship category, huh? Amazing". Emília tried to chuckled but only managed to make a weird sound as her eyes became too heavy to handle and she finally gave up resisting. Her head instantly dropped to her chest when sleep embraced her.

*****

Ava stood where she had been for the whole time, but her eyes were fixed on the sleeping detective in front of her. Something in her voice caught her attention; maybe the unusual serious tone Emília had used for a second, or maybe even the fact that Emília really seemed to consider her a friend. Whatever reason, the agent just couldn't keep her eyes off of the detective; her chest steadily coming up and down, her ebony black hair curling on her face.

Coming closer to the armchair where Emília lied, Ava felt a sudden urge to run her fingers on her cheeks, but stopped before she did something she would regret later. _For God's sake, what am I doing?_ Shaking her head, after a brief moment where she battled against herself, she took a light blanket that had been covering a big sofa and carefully covered the detective, who didn't even move.

She hid her smile before it showed and stormed to the kitchen, leaving Emília to her peaceful sleep.


End file.
